[GUIDE] How To Properly Dampen Your Beyerdynamic T1

[Andrew_WOT]

Quote:

It's a "chose your poison" situation. Felt, even in thinnest form I could find, while removing that aggressive bite at the top, does steal some details and narrows soundstage.
I don't feel that making partial rings is a good idea as it creates uneven reflection surface which could wreak havoc in the whole sound reproduction, could be wrong though.
Felt might be just too much as a dampening material in T1 situation, I will be playing with self adhesive creatology foam, the stuff that was successfully used in HD800 Anax mod, will post results later.
 

Just had creatology foam installed, I've used full circles.
So far seems like this material creates the most subtle effect, smoothen treble spikes a smidge but do not affect soundstage or take air out. I wouldn't bet on that but it feels like details are actually better with the mod, guess some ringing was masking them before.
Definitely like what I hear so far.

 

[xnuthecaveman]

Is the foam open celled or closed?

The trimmed Silverstone foam also made subtle changes. The ringing disappeared but I need more time to really pick out the changes.

 

[Andrew_WOT]

Quote:

Is the foam open celled or closed?

The trimmed Silverstone foam also made subtle changes. The ringing disappeared but I need more time to really pick out the changes.

I am not a specialist but as far as I can tell it's closed.
I am pretty sure this is it, sonic wise the best material I've tried to day. On first listen it might sound almost the same as stock, but I can go much higher in volume w/o wincing when cymbals hit, and so far after a couple of hours of headtime I can report zero fatigue. For what it's worth they just sound more open and detailed w/o glare.

 

[Andrew_WOT]

 
Just had creatology foam installed, I've used full circles.
So far seems like this material creates the most subtle effect, smoothen treble spikes a smidge but do not affect soundstage or take air out. I wouldn't bet on that but it feels like details are actually better with the mod, guess some ringing was masking them before.
Definitely like what I hear so far.

It has been a week already since I installed creatology foam version of the mod and out of everything I've used this one is the best, like a perfect amount of dampening that does not ruin the rest of the good things, all the details, air are still there but that annoying treble zing is gone. Just absolutely love how T1 sound now.

 

[xnuthecaveman]

I ordered the foam hopefully I can get it soon to try the mod

 

[Andrew_WOT]

I ordered the foam hopefully I can get it soon to try the mod

Update?

 

[xnuthecaveman]

  Update?

 
Just received the foam sheets last sunday so I have not had enough ear time
 
but initial impressions, I need to jack up more the volume - from 7 to 9 o'clock on my amp, but I still have a cold though

 

[Andrew_WOT]

 

  Update?

 
Just received the foam sheets last sunday so I have not had enough ear time
 
but initial impressions, I need to jack up more the volume - from 7 to 9 o'clock on my amp, but I still have a cold though

Higher volume, higher fidelity, so the mod is working. LOL. 

Get well.

 

[Andrew_WOT]

LOL.

Another idea that I have just successfully tested out. Why no one figured it before?
I have ordered replacement pads for T1 http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=&sku=770460&Q=&is=REG&A=details
They are using the same pads as DT880/990 just black in color. And they came in with acoustic foam dampening disks, which go on the top of the driver on DT880/990.
Well, just threw them in and yep, treble spikes are smoothed out, but the impact is minimal, I found even creatology foam I used before was too much.
Works the same way as cover on speakers.
You would need to take off plastic ring and install it under it, basically follow the instruction that comes with the pads. No need to mod phones internally.

 
 

 

[Loquah]

Nice one. That might be the perfect solution for those struggling with treble issues. Of course, an expensive alternative is to just get some nice tube amplification in your chain 

 

 

[Argo Duck]

Good thinking Andrew_WOT!

 

[Utopia]

Very nice, Andrew_WOT! 
 
My latest experiment is a full circle of Dynamat Xtreme with a full circle of adhesive felt on top of it. The idea is that the Dynamat will damped vibrations and the felt dampen reflections, pretty much, and I think it works. My felt mods (ful circle, half circle, smaller bits) all seemed to trade air for warmth, basically, but with this mod I believe I hear greater improvements. It could very well be my imagination, but what I'm hearing is added warmth, but also greater detail throughout the frequency spectrum. I should do more testing, with and without this mod, but for now I have no idea if I can easily remove the Dynamat, so that'll be interesting. It'll probably be a few weeks before I try, and then I'll probably try the DT900 pads as well.

 

[Andrew_WOT]

  Very nice, Andrew_WOT! 
 
My latest experiment is a full circle of Dynamat Xtreme with a full circle of adhesive felt on top of it. The idea is that the Dynamat will damped vibrations and the felt dampen reflections, pretty much, and I think it works. My felt mods (ful circle, half circle, smaller bits) all seemed to trade air for warmth, basically, but with this mod I believe I hear greater improvements. It could very well be my imagination, but what I'm hearing is added warmth, but also greater detail throughout the frequency spectrum. I should do more testing, with and without this mod, but for now I have no idea if I can easily remove the Dynamat, so that'll be interesting. It'll probably be a few weeks before I try, and then I'll probably try the DT900 pads as well.

I have experimented with Dynamat earlier only w/o felt. It made T1 extremely dry and detailed, definitely not what I was after. After removing dynamat just use a piece of that black dynamat backing to pick up remaining pieces, they stick to it pretty good.
 
But I think the foam circle in the front of driver is a pretty good solution, you can experiment with different foam thickness or fabric to tune treble cut off strength.

 

[agooh]

I will try to remove the plastic cover behind the speaker and see what will happen..I think it will improve the soundstage.

 

[BlakeT]

  LOL.

Another idea that I have just successfully tested out. Why no one figured it before?
I have ordered replacement pads for T1 http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=&sku=770460&Q=&is=REG&A=details
They are using the same pads as DT880/990 just black in color. And they came in with acoustic foam dampening disks, which go on the top of the driver on DT880/990.
Well, just threw them in and yep, treble spikes are smoothed out, but the impact is minimal, I found even creatology foam I used before was too much.
Works the same way as cover on speakers.
You would need to take off plastic ring and install it under it, basically follow the instruction that comes with the pads. No need to mod phones internally.

 
 

 
This did the trick for my T1's as well. It is a great solution if you are sensitive to high frequencies.